Living Off Honeyed Dreams
by 125berribe
Summary: That saccharine smile and bubbly personality had always come off a bit forced. An abnormality in the fabric of the universe, the boy had faced staggering loss once and then again. As a byproduct, Mitsukuni distanced himself far away from reality. Honey as reincarnated! oc


_**I : The Country Estate**_

Atop a hill in the Japanese countryside, there was a mansion painted a neutral green shade, blending in with the lush hillside. The entire estate would have smelled a deep and rich smell of figs and apples in the height of the late summer sun. Closer to the garden's though, the inner ones nearest to the main house, the smell was mostly the concentration of roses, jasmine, and patchouli; his Mother had loved her beautiful and fragrant flowers.

Downstairs, the chefs were baking something delicious, and his room smelled a little bit like the breakfast rolls they were preparing. It was washed out by the wind slightly, as his large bedroom window overlooking the gardens rolled in the fresh flower fragrance.

Mitsukuni lay on his back sprawled on top of his covers, just barely waking up with the sun blinding him from the window. His room was structural entertaining to the eye.

The room was planned with a green and gold theme in mind. The walls were carved out to a severe linear ripple effect, but the harshness of the shadows were ensconced by a soft warm glow. A taupe chaise lounge was draped in the corner, emanating with that same golden light.

The bed frame was sewed a smooth chartreuse fabric and the sheets were an off-white tone embellished with gold accents.

Typically a family would redecorate every few years but he never moved anything in his room since they bought the property. After all, Mihoko Hanioka—his Mom— had designed this room. Even with her gone now, the room still smelled and looked the same, a contrast to what his father's mistress had done with the rest of the house.

Half asleep, he could squint and imagine her here, reading aloud on the lounge. He could remember she would even try to make different voices for all the characters in the stories. Mom wasn't that good at imitating voices, and they would both giggle when she'd mess up.

The memory tugged a smile at his lips before he remembered.

Mom was gone. She'd left him alone with Father and baby Chika—and Mimi Kurokano—the woman who played house with daddy dearest.

He slowly sat out of his nest of pillows and reached lazily around for his stuffed bunny, Usa.

Finding her, he slipped out of the silky sheets and into his slippers conveniently placed on the floor next to the head of the bed. He yawned the sleepiness out of him, dressed, and shuffled out the door and down the stairs.

"—And so… that's why Mina-chan is throwing the Okinawan retreat weekend." Mimi, his step-mother, caked in pale mask of makeup, blithered on. She was always spending his parent's money on extravagant vacations, but father still seemed as indulgent with her as ever.

"Morning." Mitsukuni greeted his family, barring Mimi, but she didn't really need to know that.

Father nodded in acknowledgment, he wasn't much of a talker. Yasuchika followed in father's example.

"Morning dear!" His step-mother welcomed and fetched him his plate from one of their helpers.

He received the food and quietly sat at his place in the table, holding Usa to his chest comfortingly. Squeezing Usa's paws helped him restrain his frustration at Mimi being at the table with them.

Even after more than four years of being around the _replacement_ she didn't fit into his family. Mother had been disgusted and heartbroken by father and Mimi.

After Mom, Mitsukuni's respect for his father was obliterated and the barely-there relationship disappeared. Mimi, painted in makeup and her breezy pastel outfits, whirled closer into him and his brother's lives.

Yasuchika held on to the lady for dear life as everything in their lives fell apart. But Mitsukuni would never accept the lady into his life, he ignored her.

Afterall, besides simple revenge. Mitsukuni couldn't care less what Father and his wife got up too. He was still heir, even if the father died, Mimi couldn't do anything about the brother's inheritance rights.

The family ate in near silence, which was occasionally interrupted by his step-mother's chattering about the next get-together with her girlfriends.

"And Kanna Saito might come along with us, I'll make sure to proposition the forces's wage bill to her…" Mimi continued on about her trip to Okinawa. The Saito's were a prominent family of career politicians, in fact Saito's husband was the State Minister for the Economic and Fiscal Policy and Social Security Reform for all of Japan.

Despite Mimi coming off as factitious and disgusting to him, she was a high society lady. Pampered and gregarious, Mimi always got her way. Although he loathed her, he admired her technique.

On one hand, Mimi Kurakano of Kurakano Steel had outmatched mother and father's love and her and father had torn everyone's life apart. On the other hand, Mimi and Mitsukuni were so similar that it made him want to throw up.

Both clever, confident, and congenial. Both with a manipulative streak in their favor.

He didn't have it in him to get rid of her. Although she was difficult to be around, he'd rather have father's attention with her than him.

So for now, Mitsukuni, Chika, Father, and 'Mother' sat in the sunroom, eating their western breakfast of long silence and clips of shallow conversation. The ripened fruit from the gardens served cool along with sweet rolls and bacon.

A clip of monotony that defined his life into Junior high, which he would begin in another week.

_**II : Darling Dallas **_

In his dreams Mitsukuni Hanioka wasn't Mitsukuni Hanioka, he was another boy.

An American boy in complete contrast in juxtaposition to himself. The boy was tall and lanky where Mitsukuni was darling and short.

The stocky man, the boy's father in the dreams called him _Dallas_ or maybe on bad days, which were almost always, he was called boy.

In the dreams sharp vaguely italain features and dark eyes stared back at him instead of his more babyish face and light hair and round honey brown eyes.

_Dallas Mariano_. Over the years, Dallas grew up with Mitsukuni too; they were extensions of one another. Mitsukuni had all of Dallas' memories, though he could've done without them. Perhaps, he was Dallas, but at the same time, he was more Mitsukuni than the other boy now.

He had always thought he was just extremely imaginative—but sometimes coincidences were far too great. Even mother laughed at his claims.

But he had checked in the years after mother had gone. Dallas' parents existed. Dan Mariano and Lauren Mariano nee Edwards (of the Edwards Louisiana political dynasty). Though Lauren had never become an American Senator, rather, a fashion designer, and they'd never had children.

_Dallas _and his siblings never made it into the world, but everything else was the same. It was then that he'd started to regard his memory with more weight. He wasn't crazy, there was no way he would've been able to make up two random people's pasts that lined up almost too perfectly.

It didn't really matter though. Dallas, while he was still alive, was part of the elite, but never made anything of himself. His experience and mind never helped him save Mother, the one person he'd come to care about, love, in this terribly grey reality.

But Mitsukuni did have all of the twenty-something's experience. Cunning, cold ruthlessness, and his charisma, which kept him afloat in the cold world of Japanese socialites, old money and novelty.

Maybe if he'd been any other person, the loss of mother would've destroyed him and forced him into the viper's-Kurakano's-embrace, but he had been Dallas. He loved his mother, would've done _anything_ to bring her back, but he could bid his time to act against daddy-dearest.

He distracted himself with martial-arts, the skill that the Hanioka's prided themselves masters in.

Somehow, genetically, Mitsukuni could do feats, and train harder with better results than Dallas could ever have imagined. He'd become a prodigy, some kind of genius Olympian kid. It felt natural, calming, _right_.

Right in a world where everything was _wrong_.

That meant Mitsukuni judo, karate, kung-fu, capoeira, aikido, and every style, he practiced day in and out. It all flowed together for him which seemed to astonish his masters, though contextually Dallas had never had a lick of interest in martial arts besides the classic beat someone to hell and shut them the hell up.

What did surprise him however, was when Mitsukuni was eight, and cracked concrete. _Concrete_. It baffled him, but he kept growing stronger.

His reputation reached the abbot of the famed Shao-lin Monastery.

He remembered showing father the invitation letter. Father hummed his approval, after all, the Shao-lin, despite their interest in commercialism, also retained their legendary ancestral roots.

With his father's permission, Mitsukuni trained in the temple on Mount Song in China for two years. Under their leader's care, he practiced kung-fu from dawn to dusk in the cold scenic mountains.

Master Shi Suxi and his disciples, Shi Deru and Shi De Yang, ran him through training, testing, and installed the fighting monks spirit within him through meditation and him imitating their diet and lifestyle.

Mitsukuni returned to Japan and Ouran an official master of Shao-lin Ch'an-Buddist kung-fu. The title was only for tradition but Master Suxi was extremely proud to teach him, _the reincarnation of their founder_. Mitsukuni left his right to the martial discipline inheritance with his friend Shi Deru, becoming a true monk wasn't something he was ready to commit to.

It was slightly ironic that the Elders all believed him to be their founder, the legendary Bodhidharma. After all, to his knowledge, one Dallas Mariano had never even watched a Bruce Lee movie in his past life. But he did place some precedence on the thought of him having slightly higher spiritual energy.

Although Father and Grandfather were national champions of martial arts, and dons of their respective styles, Mitsukuni's body was more adaptive and stronger. Truly, genetics was out of the question.

Mitsukuni dismissed the thoughts, useless as they were. Perhaps he was just an anomaly, his birth warped the universal order, creating him with disproportionate strength to the rest of the human population. After all, being the so called 'strongest' in the world was suspect for mere puny twelve year old. Capable of crunching tons of solid metal with a solid kick, he was a national wonder.

His reputation gave him mostly respect and admiration with a twinge of fear for many, like his father. Though those unaware, like Mimi Kurakano, continued to coddle him like a baby.

_**III : Another Lifetime**_

Dallas Edwards Mariano was once his name.

He'd been spoiled as a child and had been talented at basketball. Basketball was something he was indifferent about, but it got his blood pumping, kept him distracted from all the emptiness. He was the golden child of their family.

Dallas had also flunked highschool, throwing away his sport scholarship due to carelessness and also being too violent. He'd lived with many regrets.

Forunalty, his mother and father, influential politicians who were never home, wouldn't let him decontrude their families' reputation; they sent him away to a wilderness highschool in by the sea in California for his Senior year.

It was the best and worst year of his life. He met his past girlfriend Amelie, a shy but beautiful blond, who got in because of shoplifting; kleptomania. That year of studying and hiking through Yosemite with the school kept in anger in check, his pugnacious nature toned down for the time, and he distracted himself with Amelie.

He was planning on marrying Amelie and going to a small liberal arts school for college.

He remembered the excitement and nervousness of telling his mother Lauren and sister Hailey at that small cafe that he wanted to propose. They'd been so happy for him. His mom had been relieved he was finally getting his life together and courting his decision to go to college with his girlfriend, and Hailey loved Amelie and wanted them to make cute nephews and nieces for her, a sentiment that made him chuckle.

Then everything spiral out of control. They were talking about engagement ring types he could get his girlfriend—maybe a yellow sapphire would be nice— and then the screams started, cutting off all thoughts.

Shrapnel of the nearby chairs and table pierced him. He couldn't feel any of it, paralzed. His body shielded his dear sister and his mom.

Vaguely he could hear screaming. It was a bomb, everything was slowed down. He caught the vacant eyes of a guy his age in a grey hoodie that was running, running so fast.

His chest hurt in the background. He was so-so _numb_.

"Hails-"

"Dallas?"

"I lo-loved you guys. Maybe I didn't show it that much but you all mean the world to me." He said. It came out rough and somewhat incoherent, but Hailey hear him, that's what mattered.

"Dallas?" She croaked through tears.

"Can you watch over Ami? Tell her I loved her?"

"She already knows. She-we- love you too. Stay awake _please Dallas_. Stay awake… help is coming, it's gonna be ok." His sister pleaded to him softly. She kept repeating 'it's gonna be ok' over and over to me. He tried for his families and Amelie's sake, but it was getting too tiring. Dallas' body was burning as he faded in and out of consciousness.

Noises swirled together. People were picking him up and then— darkness.

Birefly, for a few seconds he could hear hazy voices, Lauren and Dan, his parents murmuring. Will and Hailey, his siblings, comforting his girlfriend.

"He loved you so much." Hailey consoled Ami, and he distinctly heard his love burst into tears. He'd wished to could be there for her, to talk to her one last time.

And then, Dallas' senses faded to black static.

_**IV : Last day in Guam**_

Mitsukuni had been aware of Dallas his whole life. In the day, he was a Japanese boy, and at night, when he closed his eyes, he was a larger than life young adult.

That adult part of him was restless, angry, and so very heartbroken.

Mituskuni blocked his older memories mostly, attaching himself to his Mom and her stories.

Mom, Mihoko Hanioka, was a gentle woman, born of high-class and much too trusting. After all, she'd fallen for his father, national martial arts champion and philanderer, Yorihisa Hanioka, his father, look where that had gotten her: an unhappy unfaithful marriage, one soon to be two children without much connect to their male biological-donor, and so much bitterness.

For all Mihoko was a beautiful woman and kind mother, she had been overprotected by her parents and was mentally unbalanced. She was stuck in a taxing and cold marriage with no divorce in sight- unless she wished to be disowned by her own parents.

After finding her husband with another woman, this time, a spare heiress to the Kurakano Steel empire, she'd taken her son to Guam with her.

He remembered the last days of marking the end of some of his happiest moments in this life. This was some of the only clear memories he had of his mother.

The last day in Guam, the tropical paradise, started with a pleasantly warm morning.

Mihoko finds herself checking her schedule and declining two invitations for tea and one for a ladies spa day. After all, she'd promised to take her precious Mitsukuni to the park.

"Mama?" Her son asked.

She looked up, "Yes my love?"

"Why are we going back to Japan tomorrow, I like it here." Mitsukuni sniffled. She sighed. Her husband wanted her back for a corporate gala as to keep up their appearance. Of course, Mihoko couldn't deny the importance of appearances in their social-class, but it was draining being near him and her husband surely felt the same.

Nearly three years out of their honey-moon phase and he had become a completely different man. Now in her mid-twenties, she had grown-up and could see through some of his many lies. Mihoko knew she still loved him but she didn't think he felt the same anymore.

She was just a possession, his wife, to him now. Someone he could use for a purpose.

Encouraged by one of her friends whom thought the situation was getting unhealthy, Mihoko had left on a three-months vacation with their son to a little piece of paradise, Guam.

"Well, Daddy wants us to come back because he misses us a lot." She found her explaining.

Mitsukuni looked on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't want to go back!" He cried. Mihoko winced and gathered him in her arms, uncaring that the tears would stain her silk dress.

"I know baby. I know." She repeated softly, rocking the toddler back and forth.

After a while he asked quietly, "Mama?"

"Yes my love?"

"Are you going to make me be nice to Kurakano?"

"Yes Mitsukuni. She is one of your father's close friends, don't be rude to her or your father will get angry at me." She said.

He scowled, "I don't like her. She tries to my mama when you aren't there." To that, she sighed again. Everytime Yorihisa brought a woman over, it broke a little bit of her heart. It hurt even more trying to explain these things to their confused son.

"This is our last day in Guam. Why don't we go to the park?" She prompted.

"Yay. I wanna do that!" He exclaimed, forgetting the troubles back at home. She was happy he forgot so quickly, he was still an innocent little boy, she hoped he would always stay like that.

He didn't. He wouldn't ever have been able to stay sweet and child-like without her. Soon after father had forcefully ended their time in the extoic islands, she'd gone off the deep end.

And when mother died, Mitsukuni changed. Dallas' whispers of _fight_ and stay focused for _Amelie _pushed him to start training in kung-fu with his grandfather.

Mitsukuni was swept away in training and grief. The boundary protecting him and his innocence crumbled against Dallas' overwhelming emotions mixing with his. Something in his brain changed, no longer was Dallas a boy only in his dreams, residing in the darkest depths of his mind. But soon, Mitsukuni was almost as much Dallas as he was himself.

His instincts to fight and forget helped. It might've not been healthy, but it protected him from the vultures; Mimi Kurakano and his father trying to manipulate him, and all the other opportunists trying to get to the next heir of the family.

He wouldn't get back at his new step-mother (they married far too quickly after mother's death) and father. Dallas' Amelie would've never wanted them to fall into that pattern again. He could still feel her loving and protective presence, like a heavenly body giving him the strength he needed to move forward.

Even though this world was similar to his previous, many things were shifted, distorted. Where Lauren and Dan had different professions and never had children. Amelie had been twisted into a person he didn't know.

In this world her single father had been more openly abusive. The new reports went that she'd poured gas on him and burned him alive in a strange sort of terror and fascination. She been locked up for the next two decades for first-degree mruder and arson.

The Amelie White he had loved was sensitive, compulsive but compassionate, not insane and patricidal. Although he'd loved her counterpart in a past life, it probably destroy him to see her like this.

So instead of visiting her, one of the last viable connections to him as Dallas, he tried to focus on himself, as Mitsukuni.

After school, he'd lock himself in the dojo and beat the punching bags until they were lumpy and malformed. For months he'd train and get stronger, exhausting his now extremely powerful body to its limits and far beyond. He felt elastic, with perfect retention and flexibility.

Within a year of additional heavy training, he beat both Grandfather, and _father _to the dust in fair spars.

_**V : Classmates**_

Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin had been abandoned with the other children by their Mother and Father during a long and boring party.

They ignore the handful of other kids, choosing to play with their game console. On the screen, Hikaru was leading a fat little red man named 'Mario' around monsters to find a lost princess. Since it was Hikaru's turn with the controller, it was Kaoru's job to be on the lookout for troublesome adults that might spot them in their corner and attempt to get them to socialize.

"Look, there's another kid playing DS, why don't we go over there so the adult will think we're doing something." Kaoru pointed out.

"Ok." Hikaru agreed, still fully immersed in his game.

Indeed, two other boys were sitting on a couch, not playing with the other kids. One was small and blond and the other was brunet with nerdy glasses.

"Hey." Hikaru said to the pair, "Can we sit here too? I'm Hikaru Hitachiin and he's Koaru." He asked dully.

"Sure!" The blond one perked up, smiling. You guys can sit next to Usa-chan!" The blond's peppy attitude made the twins reel back. Hikaru inwardly grumbled, this kid was annoyingly friendly.

"I'm Honey and this is my baby brother Chika!" 'Honey' grinned. What type of name was Honey?

"It's Yasuchika." The nerdy brother mumbled in protest, head focused on his own game.

Once they settled on the couch, the four lounged in silence.

Honey wasn't playing a game; instead, he played with 'Usa-chan' the unoriginal named stuffed-bunny.

Eventually a group of kids ran up to their spot and whisked Honey away to a hide-and-go-seek game. The clique and the Honey seemed well acquainted.

Hikaru felt a twinge in his chest. He'd known the other children from past parties too, but this boy, was instantly accepted into their group where the twin's cold attitudes kept them away.

They didn't want to be around the stupid children, but it did hurt a bit to be so ignored, so isolated.

* * *

Kaoru and Hikaru kept running into Honey-sempai, or now as they knew him, Mitsukuni Hanioka, captain of the martial arts club. The short blond boy seemed to running purely on cake and chocolate, with his endless energy and patience.

Anyone who teased the older boy for still carrying around a stuffed animal, quickly changed their narrative after the glares of their peers. Hanioka was very popular.

They dismissed any thoughts of the other boy until middle school, he hadn't shown up to the galas or parties they had attended for a few years.

It wasn't until middle school that they encountered Mitsukuni again. The ball of energy greeted them at the gates of Ouran junior high on their first year.

Supposedly he'd just transferred back to Ouran, and had been an exchange student in China for two years. Cool but _boring_. Why was everyone so obsessed with the childish sempai? The twins would never understand.

* * *

At the third-year graduation, the Hitachiin twins finally discovered root of interest around the Hanioka.

Seeing Hanioka perform was incredible, Kaoru, at least, was impressed. Their senpai fucking flew through the air, outshining his peers in the martial-art club demonstration by a long shot.

Honey-senpai was _dancing _while the others were concentrating on controlling their moves.

He shone bright, unique and memorable in all their peer's admiring eyes. They envied his easy endearing nature and charisma.

"Wow Honey-senpai. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Kaoru asked inquisitively after the demonstration was over, Hikaru close by.

"Thanks." Hanioka grinned, flowers appearing around his head, "Actually you two know how I had to catch up with all my studies this year? I was in China for the last two years training with fighting monks." He laughed brightly, all high and angelic and a little obnoxious.

_That_ piece of their senpai's Chinese cultural exchange was something the twins had never heard before.

"Fighting monks?" Hikaru asked.

"Ahaha, yep! With the Shao-lin monastery."

"Like in the _Enter the Dragon _with Bruce Lee?" They asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. It was super fun and relaxing. I'm really grateful for Sifu Shi Suxi taking me in." He said, "It's not exactly the same as the movies though!" To that, the twins regretted never bothering with their newly discovered-badass senpai.

_**VI : Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb**_

Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka met Mitsuki days after he was born. Mitsuki was only two months older than Mori, and as cousins, they were each other's playmates.

The two infants lay in the playpen. Mori cooed quietly as Mitsukuni squirmed around. Mori would observed his cousin lift up his arms and blabble sweetly when adults came around. The behavior always rewarded Mitsukuni with extra treats.

Forward to two toddlers, one tugging the other around the playground.

"Mori, let's go play," His cousin would beg, asking him to play with the large group of children playing tag. Mori, would look at his unfinished sand castle longingly but waddled after the enlivened boy.

It became a pattern for life. It must've been a sight to see, the larger and more intimidating cousin attending his smaller cousin. But Mori loved Mitsukuni, they were like brothers, the kid was reckless, he need Mori's help in getting out of sticky situations.

* * *

It all started with, "Hey Mori, let's go help Aito-san over there!" Mori followed his cousin over to a group of boys trying to get their classmate Aichi's headphones that the boy had brought to show-and-tell that morning.

As they got closer, Mitsukuni waved and greeted the bully. "Hi Daisuke!"

"Hey." The boy grunted.

Mitsukuni met Mori's eyes, "Mori, is this okay?" Mori caught the meaning.

"What do you mean?" He prompted his cousin softly. Mitsukuni's fake smile dimmed a little, revealing an edge, glinting teeth.

"Don't get me wrong, Daisuke, I think we're pretty good friends, but does Aito-san deserve this?" Mitsukuni asked the bully.

Daisuke swaggered forward, and put an arm on Mitsukuni's shoulder all friendly-like, "We were just—" Mori softly redirected the boy's balance to the floor, "Don't touch Mitsukuni."

"—What!?" The bully frowned in confusion on the floor, "We were just trying to try his new headphones out, supposedly they haven't even been released yet, his father only got them from being at Apple's press conference." He exclaimed haughtily.

Mitsukuni smiled sharply at the boy, "That doesn't feel fair to Aito-san." He judged. Then Mori's cousin ducked and threw a sweeping kick, knocking two of the bully's group to the floor and continued to decimate the small numbers until they were all on the ground.

Mori walked up to their bullied classmate Aito and said, "It's okay, we'll make sure they won't bother you anymore."

"Yep! I promise on Usa-chan." Mitsukuni encouraged the boy to stop shuddering. "Here!" He shoved Usa-chan to Aito-san, "Usa-chan will make you feel better! Why don't we eat lunch together?"

"O-Ok." Aito smiled hesitantly but quite happily, "T-thank you Mori and Honey-senpai."

"No problem." Mori mouth twitched in a small smile and patted the boy's head. Their classmate was pretty similar in height to his cousin funnily enough.

"Yeah anytime!" Mitsukuni cheered, leading the two to the cafeteria to Mitsukuni's other friends.

Mori and Mitsukuni had been best-friends since birth though Mori was more quiet and less demanding where his cousin was extraverted and excitable. Thus Mitsukuni easily made a mass of friends and some followers that would end up joining his martial arts club.

Mori did end up connecting with Mitsukuni's endless group and found himself enjoying other company besides just his parents and cousin's. He was content just following and supporting the Mitsukuni in his cousin's shadow.

_**VII : Out of depth**_

"Father?" Seven year year him knocked on his father's office.

"Yes, what can I do for you son?" Yorihisa Hanioka looked up from his paperwork.

"Mama's in your room. A few hours she promised me she'd read to me an hour ago. I've been knocking on the door but she's not answering." The boy looked troubled. "If she's too tired, can you read to me?"

"Perhaps your nanny can. I'm too busy right now. Let's check on your mother though." His father answered.

The pair walked two minutes down the hall into the Eastern bedroom wing, where the master bedroom was. The hall was deep plum, and it's silver accents shined with the bright sunset coming from the south floor-to-ceiling window paneled walls.

"Mihoko." Father said loudly, knocking first slowly and then faster. "Mihoko, why did you lock the door? Mitsukuni wants to talk to you."

"Mama?" Mitsukuni tried raising his voice, though it hadn't worked earlier.

"Mihoko. Wake up. You have a damn kid and this isn't only your room." Father demanded. Mitsukuni knew father was more annoyed right then more than anything, only rarely did his parents seem happy with each other.

They waited a minute or two before his father started looking worried. Yorihisa carded a finger through his gelled hair and breathed in deeply before landing a solid kick on the door.

The bedroom door cracked and fell down, ruined. At this point in time his father was still far more intimidating and stronger than him. "Mihoko?" His father asked again tiredly and scooped Mitsukuni up as they walked further into the bedroom.

It was really cold in the room. He shivered despite wearing a light long sleeve shirt.

His parents white bed was still made, untouched, the windows were locked but the candles were lit, making the whole room smell of roses and gardenia. The creme window curtains fluttered rapidly from the air coming from the air ducts.

The fluttering of the curtains in the pumping AC was the only noise in the room.

Then to the right of the bed, where the door to the bathroom was, they spotted her. Yorihisa saw her first and attempted to cover his son's eyes but it was too late.

The woman lay belly-up in the water of the master bath, face serene and lovely leaning against the ivory marble, but the almost overflowing water was stained a deep crimson red clouds billowed out along her still form.

The boy froze before his father held back a choked gasp, "Son…", and squeezed him tight, forcing him to face the other way.

His father faltering left the room at an increasing pace, racing through the hallway back to the office. Balancing Mitsukuni in one arm, he reached for his cellphone with the other and called emergency services.

Mitsukuni couldn't breathe. Despite having _Dallas' _experiences, he was still just a kid. A kid who knew too much, his mother wasn't taking a _nap_ a voice told him.

_No_, nononono. His mom couldn't. She wouldn't. Mitsukuni loved her so much, what was happening?

"Mama?" He whimpered out softly, terrified and frozen still in his father's arms. He reached for father's hand and held on tight, afraid that he might disappear in thin air.

They'd seen mother's resting face leaning on the edge. Her blond curls furled around her and rouge lips matching the water. It was too surreal. Wasn't she going to get up and reading to him for bedtime? What happened? Why was his mother in the water?

Why was there blood? It was too bloody, red spilling everywhere turning his mindscape deary vermillion.

"_Sir, I'm sorry, it's natural to feel shocked right now, but your going to have to explain the situation a little more. The first responders will need more information to prepare to engage and help your wife." _A muffled tiney tone spoke through his father's phone speakers_. _Mitsukuni shook a bit and clenched onto father's clammy hand tighter.

Soon after that, servants quickly rushed in and whisked Mitsukuni away, murmuring softly but hurriedly. He was wrapped in a blanket next to his baby brother. The fire in the hearth was on, but he just felt so cold.

That night the brothers slept together in Mitsukuni's green and gold room. Mitsukuni couldn't sleep at all though, not with his heart and thoughts racing and his brother asking for their Mom, all confused.

Sometime in the hour after they'd been put to bed, their father came in and scooped them up, hugging them tight before pulling away and settling on the brown couch, looking over them concernedly, with his form typically stoic and disciplined shivering in agitation.

In the morning, before breakfast time, their grandparents arrived with the loud hum of their vintage Porsche pulling up in the driveway.

Nana and Grandfather pushed open the doors and rushed over to us in the dayroom. Mitsukuni remembered the look of his normally aloof and classical grandmother's red puffy eyes and unnatural pallor paired with the only normalcy of bouncing blond ringlets. His grandfather looked disturbed and more severe than ever.

Nana glanced at us and pulled us into a bone-crushing hug that was surprising coming from the frail sweet lady.

She'd brought us some brownies to share wrapped in pretty lavender foils that we tried when the adults shuffled out of the room to talk.

He was grateful that they didn't discuss Mom with them, it was too shocking then, and he kept thinking about how he could've saved his mother. The problem was, there had been no signs. No signs at all. Still, it was overwhelming, everything felt too much at once. It subverted him back to the mindspace of thinking about everything he'd left _before_.

Amelie, his beloved fiance. They'd made a vow to help each other become better people. They'd been each other's rocks, and he'd left her out of the blue. He'd never be able to see her again.

Lauren, Dan, Hailey, even his older brother Jackson. All of his old friends who'd been with him along the way, everyone he'd loved and had loved him.

He'd never be with them again.

Just like Mitsukuni would never be with his Mom again. He wanted it to be untrue. Maybe Mom would be okay.

But his intuition told him otherwise. Dallas had seen overdoses and self-harm and the like before, never with someone he held dear but still shocking and horrifying the same. A close acquaintance died in his early years of highschool, by _train, which_ wasn't the same. It had been brutal to even imagine, but not the same. Still Dallas knew based on everything they'd seen, Mihoko was _gone. _

His mother was gone.

* * *

Two days of mourning later, the extended family gathered for a short funeral before the public ceremony.

Their Nana held his brother Chika while he stood close to his cousin Mori. Mori's usual strong and silent facade was broken for once as tears made his face pink.

Mitsukuni and Mori huddled under one of Nana's knit blankets, keeping warm in the cold memorial field. The pale yellow blanket a contrast to the stormy gray sky and dewy green grassy plains and the black metal chairs connected to black silky dresses and tailor suits. He clutched the warm colored fabric as he saw the sea of somber and grieving faces of his typically austere relatives.

Among a few, Grandmother spoke at the service, she recalled some memories of mother's favorite things, like baking and traveling with us and mother's whirlwind gap year in France post-college. Although his mother had only been her daughter in law, they had been close and Nana had always there for Mihoko.

After that, they all went home. Few of us would attend the public ceremony, it would be mostly politicians using her death to get their names out there and some of her more catty socialite friends. The family never talked about her much after, as his grandmother developed chronic health problems and father grew more distant every day.

Yorihisa and Mihoko hadn't been okay since he'd been very little. From stories, they'd been deeply infatuated with each other in their honeymoon phase but then his father reverted back to his flirtatious and inconsiderate habits and his mother had gotten better at reading through his lies.

His father had been deeply troubled and grieved like the rest of them over her death, but Mitsukuni suspectedly sadly that his father's cold and abusive problems had led to driving his mom over the edge.

As the family was still mourning, a familiar face from years ago moved into their lives. His soon-to-be step mother, Mimi Kurakano painted in all her makeup, pastel dresses, and practiced airy laughs with _fake _motherly smiles appeared more frequently and then started to stay longer until she never left anymore.

Mitsukuni missed his mother more than anything. And selfishly he even wished her back to protect him from the wolf in women's skin that floated around their house stealing his father's attention more and more. His Mom had been strong and warm and now that she was dead, everything divided into chaos, and he felt so lost and out of place.

* * *

**AN: (Not finished) Would love a review/feedback since I'm a new author!**


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